The effect of reinforced concrete shear wall dimensions and configuration on seismic behavior of frame-shear wall structures

Earthquakes are among the most frequent natural disasters causing economic and physical loss in the World. Turkey is one of the countries located on active seismic zones with potential seismic risk. The primary stage for aseismic design of structures is the decision of the structural engineer on the most effective structural system in the preliminary design of a building. The national earthquake design codes are the key references for detailed seismic evaluation and the design of structures as well as the preliminary design of the structural systems. The use of reinforced concrete structural walls is inevitable for multistory framed structures especially for the buildings located on the seismic regions. The reinforced concrete structural walls contribute to the overall lateral stiffness of the building, resisting the lateral loads and limiting the interstory drift ratio at the story levels. The location and dimensions of the shear walls in the plan are the essential parameters effecting the dynamic behavior of the building. Within the scope of this study, the effect of structural system layout in the plan for multistory reinforced concrete frame-shear wall structures is analyzed using "The Equivalent Lateral Force Analysis" stated in the Turkish Seismic Code (DBYBHY-2007). The analysis has been conducted on three dimensional numerical models with varying structural system configurations to determine the effects of shear wall dimensions and location on the structural behavior.